Which Overnight

Chaya Ruckin Berkman’s solo exhibition offers a look into art created in the domestic, personal sphere. The objects and drawings on view are charged with private experiences, thus rendering the gallery an intimate setting. The works present a female figure, thereby introducing Ruckin Berkman’s preoccupation with universal questions regarding origin and meaning.

The narrative and symbolism embodied in the works are more substantial than the preoccupation with the material. The changing aesthetics and materiality are derivatives of immediacy and of the availability of diverse raw materials, which function, first and foremost, as an urgent solution to the realization of the image.

The works’ presence in the space conjures up traces of everyday activities, the result of familiar crafts, such as embroidery, braiding, weaving, sewing, and the like. The handicraft ties a personal biography to biblical stories, childhood memories, intimate experiences, and superstitions. The works are engulfed by aspirations and anxieties, which are the energy behind the exhibition.